Director, Product Marketing

ASSA ABLOY•Lake Forest, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Product Marketing, is a critical leadership role within Pfister Faucets and a key member of the Plumbing Leadership Team. Reporting directly to the VP & General Manager, Plumbing, this role serves as the business leader for the Pfister product portfolio and is responsible for portfolio strategy, category performance, innovation, commercialization, lifecycle management, pricing, profitability, and team leadership. This position leads a team of 5 Product Marketing and Product Management professionals and partners closely with Sales, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Sourcing, Finance, Quality, Consumer Care, Brand Marketing, Channel Marketing, and Creative teams to drive sustainable growth, margin expansion, market share gains, and portfolio productivity. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking, financial acumen, customer and consumer insight, disciplined execution, and strong people leadership. This leader must be able to translate market trends, customer needs, competitive dynamics, and business performance into clear product strategies, action plans, and profitable growth initiatives. Product Marketing is responsible for generating product ideas, defining business cases, prioritizing portfolio opportunities, and aligning stakeholders, while helping manage the formal stage-gate development process.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
10+ years of progressive experience in product management, product marketing, category management, marketing, or related commercial leadership roles.
5+ years of direct people leadership experience.
Demonstrated success leading product portfolios with business, margin, and/or P&L accountability.
Experience developing product strategies, roadmaps, business cases, and commercialization plans.
Experience launching new products through structured cross-functional development processes.
Strong financial acumen with experience managing revenue, margin, pricing, investment, and ROI decisions.
Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
Advanced portfolio and product lifecycle management
Advanced pricing and profitability management
Advanced financial and business analysis
Advanced market, consumer, customer, and competitive insights interpretation
Advanced project and program management
Advanced Power BI and data analytics capability
Advanced Microsoft Office Suite skills
Executive-level presentation, communication, and storytelling skills

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred.
Experience within plumbing, building products, durable goods, consumer products, hardware, home improvement, or related industries.
Experience working across retail, wholesale distribution, builder, showroom, and ecommerce channels.
Experience with global sourcing, manufacturing, and supply chain environments.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute short-term and long-term category strategies that support Pfister growth, profitability, and market share objectives.
Own the strategic direction and business performance of assigned product categories, including Kitchen, Lav, Tub/Shower, Valves, and Parts, across Retail, Wholesale, Builder, Showroom, and E-Commerce channels.
Lead annual and multi-year portfolio planning processes, including growth priorities, investment recommendations, and category roadmaps.
Own overall category P&L performance, including revenue growth, gross margin, operating profitability, inventory productivity, and return on invested capital.
Lead portfolio governance processes that prioritize investments, balance resource allocation, manage complexity, and ensure alignment with long-term growth and profitability objectives.
Evaluate portfolio performance and identify opportunities to expand, optimize, reposition, or rationalize product offerings.
Drive category business reviews, performance management routines, and executive-level recommendations.
Partner with Finance to support annual operating plans, forecasts, long-range plans, and margin improvement initiatives.
Build and maintain a robust product innovation roadmap based on consumer needs, customer opportunities, market trends, competitive gaps, and financial returns.
Generate and prioritize product ideas, platform opportunities, and category growth initiatives in partnership with Sales, Brand Marketing, Channel Marketing, and Engineering.
Partner with the Ops Project Management Team, driving the formal stage-gate development process, to ensure product concepts, requirements, timing, costs, and business priorities are clearly aligned.
Develop business cases, financial models, product requirements, and investment recommendations for new products and platform development.
Ensure new product launches are designed to achieve targeted revenue, margin, vitality, and return-on-investment objectives.
Partner with Brand Marketing and Sales to track post-launch performance and implement corrective actions to ensure business case commitments are achieved.
Champion consumer-centric, commercially viable innovation that strengthens Pfister’s brand position and competitive differentiation.
Establish portfolio architecture, category frameworks, and product segmentation that simplify decision-making and improve portfolio productivity.
Lead SKU optimization, assortment planning, lifecycle management, and end-of-life recommendations.
Drive portfolio profitability through strategic mix management, rationalization, pricing discipline, and product cost improvement opportunities.
Manage transition plans for discontinued products to minimize customer disruption, excess inventory, and operational complexity.
Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Quality to improve product availability, cost, quality, service levels, and working capital performance.
Own portfolio pricing strategy across channels, product segments, and customer programs.
Lead pricing optimization initiatives that balance competitive positioning, customer value, channel requirements, and profitability goals.
Monitor category financial performance, including sales, gross margin, mix, inventory, working capital, vitality, and return on investment.
Identify margin expansion opportunities through cost reduction, value engineering, sourcing actions, portfolio mix, and rationalization.
Prepare and present clear financial recommendations to senior leadership.
Lead market assessment activities, including consumer research, competitive analysis, trend monitoring, customer input, and channel insights.
Translate consumer, customer, and competitive insights into actionable product, pricing, assortment, and commercialization strategies.
Maintain a deep understanding of the plumbing industry, faucet category, channel dynamics, competitive landscape, and customer needs.
Provide category thought leadership to internal stakeholders and support strategic customer engagements, line reviews, innovation summits, and business planning discussions.
Partner with Brand Marketing, Channel Marketing, Sales, Creative, and Customer teams to develop clear commercialization strategies and launch plans.
Ensure product positioning, value propositions, messaging, packaging, merchandising, training materials, and selling tools support intended business objectives.
Guide customer presentations, line review materials, sell-in tools, launch communications, and product training content.
Support key customer growth initiatives and ensure product strategies are translated into effective channel execution.
Lead and influence cross-functional teams across Sales, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Sourcing, Quality, Finance, Consumer Care, and Marketing.
Drive alignment around business priorities, resource allocation, timelines, risks, trade-offs, and execution plans.
Serve as a key contributor to the Plumbing Leadership Team and help shape broader business strategy, operating priorities, and culture.
Champion continuous improvement efforts that improve speed-to-market, decision quality, portfolio effectiveness, and business performance.
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Product Marketing organization.
Create clear accountability, performance expectations, role clarity, and development plans for team members.
Foster a culture of innovation, ownership, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
Build organizational capability in product management, portfolio strategy, business analysis, consumer insights, commercialization, and executive communication.
Drive employee engagement, succession planning, and talent development within the Product Marketing team.